Suspicious packages sent to Clinton, Obama, CNN prompt massive response

FAN Editor

CBS/AP October 24, 2018, 2:08 PM

    • Two “suspicious packages” addressed to former President Obama and Hillary Clinton were intercepted by the Secret Service.
    • A package sent to CNN’s offices in New York City contained what appeared to be a live explosive device and an envelope containing white powder
    • At least two of the packages included crude but functional low-ordnance explosive devices, a law enforcement official said.
    • The package to CNN was addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan and it was safely removed by the NYPD.
    • Police said an office building that houses the office of former DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz was evacuated due to a suspicious package.
    • CBS News has learned that at least one of the return addresses on the suspicious packages was listed as Wasserman Schultz.

    A sprawling investigation unfolded Wednesday as authorities scrambled to respond to a series of suspicious packages addressed to the homes of two former presidents, the offices of CNN and a former chair of the Democratic National Committee. At least two of the packages contained crude explosive devices, and a massive police response shut down one of the busiest areas of midtown Manhattan for hours.

    The Secret Service said Wednesday morning it had intercepted packages addressed to former President Obama’s home in Washington and Bill and Hillary Clinton’s residence in Westchester County, New York. Another package discovered in New York prompted the evacuation of the CNN offices.

    New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said his Manhattan office also received a suspicious device.

    The crude but functional low-ordinance explosive devices found in at least two of the packages consisted of a pipe, wires and black powder, a law enforcement official told CBS News senior investigative producer Pat Milton.

  • NYPD: Devices all similar crude pipe bombs

    NYPD’s chief of counterterrorism said the device sent to CNN’s headquarters in New York appeared to be sent by the same person who mailed pipe bombs to the homes of billionaire financier and liberal activist George Soros, Hillary Clinton and former President Obama.

    John Miller and FBI officials said a news conference the devices all appeared to be crude pipe bombs. Miller said it started on Monday night with the device sent to Soros.

    He said they’re looking at the devices as a pattern, and they have not made any arrests.

    No one was injured by any of the devices.

    Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during the new conference he would not be surprised if more devices were uncovered. He said his office received one and it was being dealt with.

  • “An act of terror”

    New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday :”The situation at the Time Warner Center was clearly an act of terror attempting to undermine our free press and intimidate New Yorkers.”

    “But the people of this city have shown time and again that they stand up in the face of terror,” he tweeted.

    At a briefing near Manhattan’s Time Warner Center, New York City Police Commissioner James O’Neill pledged to bring the perpetrators to justice.

    New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said “we will not allow these terrorist thugs to change the way we live our lives.”

  • Package sent to CNN’s offices contained device, white powder

    The package sent to CNN’s offices in New York contained what appeared to be a “live explosive device,” said New York Police Commissioner James P. O’Neill. It also contained an envelope with white powder.

    A source told CBS News senior national security analyst Fran Townsend the package was addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan. Since leaving government, Brennan appears on television, but he works as an analyst for NBC News.

    The package was found in the building’s mailroom. It was described as a pipe with wires and was sent through the U.S. Postal Service, CBS New York reported.

    A photo obtained by CBS News shows what is described as the device and a package addressed to John Brennan.

    device.jpg

    This photo obtained by CBS News shows what is described as the device sent to former CIA Director John Brennan at CNN’s New York City offices.

  • Responses to packages by Trump administration, White House

    White House press secretary Sarah Sanders condemned “the attempted violent attacks recently made against President Obama, President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and other public figures.”

    “These terrorizing acts are despicable, and anyone responsible will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Sanders said in a statement Wednesday morning. “The United States Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies are investigating and will take all appropriate actions to protect anyone threatened by these cowards.”

    Vice President Mike Pence said in a tweet this morning “We condemn the attempted attacks against fmr Pres Obama, the Clintons, @CNN & others. These cowardly actions are despicable & have no place in this Country.”

    President Trump retweeted the vice president’s tweet adding “I agree wholeheartedly!”

  • Suspicious package at CNN’s New York offices at Time Warner Center

    10:26 a.m. The New York City Police Department is investigating a suspicious package at the Time Warner Center in New York City, the NYPD confirmed to CBS News. The NYPD didn’t say to whom the package was addressed.

    Shortly after news of the initial packages emerged Wednesday morning, authorities hastily evacuated the Time Warner Center in midtown Manhattan, where CNN’s New York offices are located. Its anchors were live on the air when an alarm rang out and members of the NYPD responded to the scene.

    Police promptly shut down the area around the building. CNN said its bureau in the Time Warner Center was evacuated “as a precaution.”

    An NYPD bomb squad was on its way to the Time Warner Center Wednesday morning and the entire building was evacuated. Areas around the building were also being evacuated.

    CNN reported the package discovered in New York was addressed to former CIA Director John Brennan, citing city and local law enforcement sources. At noon, CNN President Jeff Zucker said in a statement that police had safely removed the package from the building.

  • Suspicious packages sent to homes of President Obama, Hillary Clinton

    10 a.m. The Secret Service said it has intercepted suspicious packages addressed to former President Obama’s home in Washington and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s residence in Westchester County, New York. Another package discovered in New York prompted the evacuation of CNN’s offices at the Time Warner Center and an enormous police response that shut down the area around the building.

    A law enforcement source told CBS News the device addressed to the Clinton home was similar to an explosive device sent to the home of billionaire financier George Soros that was discovered on Monday. The source said the package addressed to the Clinton home was sent through the U.S. Postal Service. Clinton’s home is about eight miles from Soros’ residence in the suburbs north of New York City.

    In a statement Wednesday, the Secret Service said the packages sent to the Clinton and Obama homes were “immediately identified during routine mail screening as potential explosive devices.” Neither package was delivered to its intended address.

    The packages contained crude but functional low-ordnance explosive devices, a law enforcement official told CBS News senior investigative producer Pat Milton. At least two of the devices consisted of a pipe, wires and black powder, the official said.

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